Comparison of nitrogen uptake, transpiration rate and exudation rate between upland NERICAS and Japanese cultivars

Our previous study revealed that upland cultivars of New Rice for Africa (NERICAs) exhibited superior biomass production and N uptake compared with selected Japanese cultivars under upland conditions. The objective of this study was to examine whether the N uptake ability of upland NERICAs is attributable to their transpiration and exudation rates. Two NERICA cultivars (NERICA 1 and NERICA 5), two Japanese upland cultivars (Toyohatamochi and Yumenohatamochi), and a Japanese lowland cultivar Hitomebore were grown under rainfed upland conditions at two N levels. The NERICAs exceeded Japanese cultivars in the increment of aboveground dry weight and N content during the ripening stage. The transpiration rate and exudation rate of NERICAs tended to be higher than those of Japanese cultivars during the ripening stage. These results suggest that NERICAs are capable of maintaining higher water uptake ability during the ripening stage, leading to greater N uptake and biomass production at maturity.